Start The World From Here
From the green and bushy fields of Bathooro, we came to a village with children playing here and there, making the atmosphere light and full of laughter while we were out enjoying our winter holidays from school. An unexpected thought crossed my mind, I thought, “Am I actually standing in Sindh? If yes, I’m totally speechless” as the lifestyle was totally shocking for me and my family, being pathetic in the place they were settled.
You all might be thinking actually the whole scenario was in Jogi village. It’s a minority cast community of Hindus. The houses are made with wood and not the strong one, in fact, a really weak and quite thin bamboo with cloth used for the roof. When we asked where they slept, and they said on the floor whether it’s winter or summer. Just imagine, they slept right beside the canal filled with trash, fungi and bacteria. The worst thing I saw was the area of open defecation. Is this really the world we live in? At first, I thought that the practice of open defecation already got finished but this village proved that I was wrong as this area was one of them. There are several other problems like their stoves were right next to the open defecation area and this can easily tell the hygiene of people living there and eating that food.
Now let’s get onto the people of that village and their lifestyle, and surely, their hygiene. Anyone could tell that their health was bad by the way they lived or where they lived as it totally effects their health and hygiene. By now, you may have figured out their health condition and if you thought it was totally ruined and they didn’t want to move on, let me tell, you understand thing quite fast as you grasp all the knowledge! As well as no child goes to school from this village, their studies are being stopped which is a major problem, especially in Sindh.
A change will never come unless you try, and I learnt it when I saw the next village named ‘Bhaloo Kohli’ and that was mind-blowing as the villagers of that village made it themselves, with unity and with love. The difference was massive change between the first and second village, massive! The houses were clean, they had separate toilets although these ones had no roof as villagers had a problem in breathing but they weren’t open like the ones in the first one, they had proper stoves, their livestock was fine, they had proper hygiene and most of all they had a marvi worker.
This was not at all possible without the help of HANDS, a national organization that came in the village, trained, listened to the problems of people and also to the issues of those villagers , also there were elearning dubai office nearby. The organization sends its engineers to observe lifestyles in villages and underprivileged areas and devise ways to bring change, starting in 2017. They invested in instalments for building material. From that, I learned from those uneducated villagers that the ratio of 1 lime putty and 6 soil makes a perfect combination to make or construct anything solid. Totally works. I learned another thing. To build houses that were 1 foot high from the ground, we prevent flooding in houses.
Many people say that it’s really hard but it’s only hard for the ones who cannot make a social connection and understanding with the others. Just to think of it, if one organization can change this much, imagine the massive change the government can bring if they want to.
Do you also want to bring a change in our community? Come sit on our magic carpet and off we go on the journey to the new world! The way to cross the first step is, of course, building a way to communicate and to listen to the problem of the community in a friendly manner just like HANDS. The second way is to never expect the community to change in few days. Never. Everything takes time. Collaborate and unite with yourselves as without this key you will never be able to open the door of change.
In my opinion, I think that these are the major steps to bring change in your community and I wish that by adopting these, you can reach the top of the ladder of change, peace and a world which tells its future. Bring change, live in change.
Grade 6 – Teresa
Future World Schools
Bahria Town Karachi.